So intent were the Kansas City Chiefs to get rid of disappointing wide receiver Jon Baldwin they traded him away and took another disappointment in return.On Monday, the Chiefs dealt their first-round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft to San Francisco for the 49ers first-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, wide receiver A.J. Jenkins.The deal came just a few days after the teams met in a preseason game, but there wasn't anything that happened out of the ordinary in that San Francisco 15-13 victory. Baldwin did not have a catch, but did drop two passes and Jenkins did not have a catch, while failing to break up a short pass that was intercepted by Kansas City cornerback Sean Smith."A.J. is a talented individual with a skill-set that we feel can add value to our team," said Chiefs general manager John Dorsey. "Jon Baldwin is a hardworking player and a professional. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward."Baldwin qualifies now as the biggest draft-day disappointment of former general manager Scott Pioli's four seasons in charge of the team's personnel. Selected at No. 26 after his college career at the University of Pittsburgh, Baldwin had problems almost from his first day in the building. There were maturity and personality issues, all of which he had displayed during his time playing for Pitt.Pioli thought the Chiefs could change that personality, but within his first weeks of training camp, he suffered a thumb injury when he got into a locker-room fight with veteran running back Thomas Jones. The fight was started by Baldwin's complaints about teammates and the work the Chiefs were doing in camp. When he got into an argument with running back Jamaal Charles it was Jones that finished the situation.It was all part of a pattern of immaturity for Baldwin. He put in the work time and was in good physical shape, especially in the most recent offseason and the start of the 2013 training camp. His physical gifts are many, especially considering his 6-4, 230-pound size. In practices and limited game snaps he could make the impossible catch, going up with his long arms and big hands and snagging passes that should have been in the front row of the bleachers.But Baldwin's play had no consistency; he would come back after a remarkable catch and drop a pass right in his chest. He also had the bad habit of jumping for every pass thrown to him, and that severely limited his ability to get yards after the catch. The Aliquippa, PA native caught 41 passes for 579 yards and two touchdown receptions in 26 games over two seasons. Just 154 of those yards were after the catch, or an average of less than four yards per catch. In two seasons, he was targeted by Chiefs quarterbacks 97 times, but caught just 42 percent of throws.The Chiefs hand was tipped by head coach Andy Reid who said after the loss to San Francisco of Baldwin and his drops: "We gave him the opportunity this week and you have to catch the football. That's how it works, and he knows that and I know that. When we give you an opportunity, you have to make sure you take advantage of the opportunity. He needs to keep playing, and (when) given the opportunity, he needs to take advantage of it."That opportunity will now happen with the 49ers.--Bob Sutton has been around the game of football for a long time. He first coached in 1972 when he was part of Bo Schembechler's staff at the University of Michigan. Since that introduction, he's not been out of a coaching job, spending 28 seasons in the college ranks including a nine-year stint as head coach Army.This is his 14th season in the NFL, but his first away from the New York Jets where he began work in 2000. That's 42 seasons as a coach, so he's picked up a lot of ideas, methods and schemes from many of the coaches he worked for and with. That melting pot of knowledge is showing itself right now with the Chiefs' defense.As the coordinator of head coach Andy Reid's defense, Sutton continues to use the preseason schedule and practices as the incubation period for an entirely different mindset on defense than the Chiefs were used to in recent seasons.With Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator and then head coach, the Chiefs played a defensive style that would best be described as bend-but-don't-break. On the football field, there are two kinds of defenses - those that catch the force of the opponent, and those that strike first on the opponent.This season, the Chiefs want to strike first and they want to strike with force."We love the scheme," said cornerback Brandon Flowers. "We are attacking the quarterback, putting pressure on the quarterback and getting him off the spot. As a defensive back, that helps us out a lot. The ball might be held one or two seconds longer, which gives us time to recover."That's really what the defense has been about, attacking the quarterback."Over the last five years, the Chiefs' defense has not done a successful job of attacking the quarterback. In 80 regular-season games (2008-12), they've totaled 127 sacks or one every 20.9 passing plays. The lack of consistent pressure on the passer has made it difficult on the secondary, where they have 69 interceptions in those 80 games; last year they had only seven interceptions."We've put a lot of hours in at the film room," said Flowers. "Even when we leave the film room we are always talking about how we are going to play coverages. The chemistry builds every day."Right now, Sutton's defense has had the Chiefs' players doing a lot of thinking, and that's not always good in a game where things happen as fast as they do in the NFL."It's challenging - the whole scheme is different than what we had," Flowers said. "That's why were in meetings all day. That's why we were in the dorm talking about in our rooms; that's why we are working so hard at getting our chemistry down so we don't have any excuses in the regular season."Sutton's method behind dumping the whole defensive playbook on the squad is understandable."With the new rules set up, during the course of the season there's a lot less contact," Sutton said. "It's this time of the year where you have to build your technique base and you have to build all of the things that will carry you through the season. That's been our emphasis - technique, technique, technique. It's about breaking to the ball, making sure we can secure the tackle, the basics."The first-team defense has gotten that done in the preseason. Over two games, opponents have scored three touchdowns, all vs. the second and third defenses. They are allowing an average of 349 offensive yards per game, but that's not resulting in touchdowns.And the scheme is still in the learning stages as they have just two interceptions and four sacks in 76 passing plays.But Flowers says that part of the game is coming together."We're definitely getting our hands on some balls," Flowers said. "We have to try to come down with every single ball we get our hands on. That's the mentality back there. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next."

Steelers rookie running back Le'Veon Bell could return much earlier than expected from a sprained foot, coach Mike Tomlin said Thursday.Tomlin said Bell will not require surgery, as was widely reported, and that already the team has seen dramatic improvement from treatment, including more movements without pain in the past 48 hours.The team is listing Bell's injury as a mild mid-foot sprain. Bell was ruled out of Saturday's preseason game and will be re-evaluated next week.Bell, listed as a co-starter with Isaac Redman, was hurt during the first quarter of the Steelers' 24-13 loss to the Washington Redskins on Monday night. He underwent an MRI on Tuesday.ESPN and NFL Network reported the Steelers sent Bell's MRI scans to Charlotte-based foot specialist Dr. Richard Anderson for a final determination regarding the severity of the injury, but that the team was anticipating the worst -- a Lisfranc foot sprain.The second-round draft pick had missed Pittsburgh's preseason opener with soreness in his left knee. He made his NFL debut against the Redskins, rushing for nine yards on four carries before the injury.Pittsburgh has multiple injuries to running backs. Redman is battling a stinger and LaRod Stephens-Howling (knee) and Baron Batch (stinger) also are injured.Redman has been listed as the co-starter with Bell the past two weeks. Jonathan Dwyer, their leading rusher last season in an injury-necessitated halfback-by-committee approach, has been the most impressive runner in the preseason.The coaches are on record saying they hoped someone would be their feature back and carry the load this season. With Bell injured, it's possible Redman and Dwyer will now share that job, as they did for a time last season when Rashard Mendenhall was injured."They knew we were coming into training camp with everybody competing," Redman said. "There were a lot of jobs open -- starting jobs, third-down jobs, so I'm here to compete. Now that Le'Veon is down, we're a little banged up, I'm ready to step up and lead this room."Dwyer looked good running the ball in the second preseason game when he led them with 68 yards on 14 carries. He replaced the injured Bell to start the second series. However, he lost a fumble in the first half and that did not go over a bit with Mike Tomlin, whose team committed 30 turnovers last season and recovered only 10."Obviously putting the ball on the ground doesn't help him or us," Tomlin said. "But other than that, I thought he did some nice things. He had his moments."He had his moments last season too, particularly when he topped 100 yards in two consecutive games. But he often tapped himself out of games when he got tired and then ballooned to 265 pounds this spring. He's down to 230 now and seems to be taking his profession more seriously. If he does, he has the looks of a back who can thrive in the Steelers new outside zone run-blocking scheme."Just one thing led to another," Dwyer said of his weight gain. "I'm not going to blame anything. It was my fault. It's not going to happen anymore."

08-24-2013, 10:51 AM

TopekaRoy

Notable Quotables:

Chiefs:

"Everything is new from the quarterback to the offensive philosophy and structure. You need your starters together as often as possible so it is going to be good to get Jamaal (Charles) back this week. In this situation it's valuable to have as many reps as you can together."—Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson on the return of injured Jamaal Charles to practice.

Steelers:

"We need to get better in a hurry."—Coach Mike Tomlin after the Steelers slipped to 0-2 in the preseason with a dreadful showing vs. the Washington Redskins.

08-24-2013, 11:07 AM

Chiefster

...A wealth of information right there, nice job Roy! :smile

08-24-2013, 04:38 PM

TopekaRoy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefster

...A wealth of information right there, nice job Roy! :smile

Thanks, Chiefster!

What I expect/hope to see in tonight's game:

1. No injuries. I don't want anyone to get seriously hurt but especially no Chiefs injuries. We don't have a lot of depth and we'll need everyone healthy to perform at a high level.

2. Eric Fisher needs to step up. I know he's a rookie and it takes time for offensive linemen especially to learn a new offense, so I don't expect him to be perfect. He's going to make mistakes early on. But he needs to show improvement from what we have seen so far. As the first pick in the draft he needs to be ready to play on opening day and, from what we have seen so far, he's still got a long way to go. The o-line in general needs to play well and protect Alex.

3. Dwayne Bowe. As our best receiving threat we need to see more from Bowe than we have so far. I expect a couple of big, or at least medium big plays tonight.

4. Donnie Avery. He is our #2 starting WR almost by default. Have we seen anything out of him yet?

5. Jammal Charles. I would prefer that he didn't play at all tonight and continue to rest that injured foot and not risk further injury. But in a new offense, with a new QB, we don't have that luxury. He needs to get some more playing time in a "real game" situation. Will there be any lingering effect from that foot injury?

6. Alex Smith. He's done a good job so far, and I want to see him continue to get better. He needs to make good decisions, not hang onto the ball too long and spread the ball around. This can be a very powerful multiple threat offense if he plays at a high level.

7. The defense. They have been impressive so far but our secondary is thin. If one of our starters were to get hurt who would be ready to step up? Maybe we'll find out tonight. I expect to see two or three sacks from our starters and three take aways (fumbles and interceptions). That's a lot to ask for in one half, but they're good enough to get it done.

8. Great special teams play. With Toub as ST coach, I think we will be very good in this area. That can make a huge difference in winning and losing.

The Steelers have stunk so far in their first two pre-season games, but as long as they have Ben Rapistburger they are a threat. They should be a good test for where the team is, so far.Go Chiefs!

08-24-2013, 05:45 PM

brdempsey69

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopekaRoy

2. Eric Fisher needs to step up. I know he's a rookie and it takes time for offensive linemen especially to learn a new offense, so I don't expect him to be perfect. He's going to make mistakes early on. But he needs to show improvement from what we have seen so far. As the first pick in the draft he needs to be ready to play on opening day and, from what we have seen so far, he's still got a long way to go. The o-line in general needs to play well and protect Alex.

I also want to see Fisher play better than last week, but I also want to see him 100% healthy on opening day. He can't improve his game if he can't lift his right arm due to a bum shoulder, which I saw evidence of last Friday. The trouble for Fisher seemed to really start after he was replaced for that one series by Stephenson & was being checked out by the doc. They should have just let him have the rest of the night off. I know that reps are important, but they will come in due time & it's more important that Fisher stay healthy & be on the field, than get reps in the preseason.

As for the rest of the O-Line, there were no reports of injuries, and yet, they played worse than Fisher did.

08-24-2013, 05:49 PM

TopekaRoy

Update: According to TVGuide.com WIBW 13 (Topeka) will be showing the Broncos/Rams game tonight. What The Foolishness!?

I guess I'll be watching an internet stream AGAIN!

08-24-2013, 05:54 PM

TopekaRoy

Quote:

Originally Posted by brdempsey69

I also want to see Fisher play better than last week, but I also want to see him 100% healthy on opening day. etc. ...

Good point. I haven't heard any updates on his injury. Has he recovered? Is he expected to start? I don't want him to further aggravate his shoulder, but he needs the reps.